Monday, May 23, 2011

Men on Prowl, Women on Guard

Dear Readers,

Madame L has been appalled at the way the media in France are defending former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn and casting aspersions on the hotel housekeeper who alleges he assaulted her sexually. What's funny is that they are appalled at the way DSK has been treated by the media (and the cops) in the U.S.

It would be easy to point the finger of shame at those decadent French for their sexual mores, but now there's the case of Arnold Schwarzenegger's housekeeper, who gave birth to his son the same week his wife gave birth to another son.

The culture at the IMF, which caused women to fear to wear skirts or dresses to work because of unwanted attention of male co-workers and which officially tolerated sexual liaisons between co-workers even when such liaisons could be the result of pressure by higher-up men exerted on women subordinate to them, is clearly not the only reason for this scandal.

What will it take for women to be treated better by men --- ordinary co-workers in ordinary jobs, and men with some kind of power over women --- in the IMF, in the Governator's home, and everywhere?

Though Madame L claims to be able to answer "all," she hasn't thought of a simple answer to this question yet. For a start, she hopes mothers and fathers will do a better job of teaching their sons to respect women and their daughters to expect to be treated right.

Contacting Madame L

Please share comments and questions with Madame L and other readers. You can comment directly on any posting here, or write to ellemadame{at}gmail{dot}com.

We agree on etiquette

Madame L suggested that commenters follow these rules:---Never be mean, snarky, or vulgar.---Express even strong disagreements with politeness and civility.---Greet the day with a song. (Off-line---unless you want to share the chorus with Madame L and her readers)

One commenter has added these suggestions:

My grandma, born in Germany but raised in Kentucky, taught me this:-Work hard - there are no excuses for not.-Work smart - if you think about it as you go you won't waste a lot of time reinventing something.-Be kind - always, to everyone.